The former Hejaz railway station now houses the Madinah Museum, a key destination for historical researchers and tourists.
Among the museum’s attractions are railway buildings, a Hejaz railway gallery in the former repair shop, a crafts market, and traditional eateries.
Dar Al-Madinah Museum offers visitors the opportunity to view historical pieces associated with the Prophet’s life. It features artifacts that capture the history, heritage, social life, and culture of Madinah.
The museum’s executive director, Hassan Taher, said that it aims to promote the noble values of the Prophet Muhammad, encourage a sense of belonging, and capture the history, culture, and heritage of Madinah. The exhibits start with the Prophet’s life and end with the Saudi era.
Taher said: “The museum carries out specialized research in Madinah’s architectural heritage. It contains a library of relevant books, research, and magazines, all of which are accessible to researchers.”
He said that the museum has issued more than 44 books and publications on Madinah’s architecture.
Taher explained that when preparing the museum’s narrative, it was necessary to reconcile temporal and spatial contexts so they created an added moral and intellectual value for the visitor.
He added: “There are around 2,000 artifacts in the museum’s exhibition halls. These include antiquities, extremely accurate models, handicrafts, manuscripts, documents, correspondence, old publications, postage stamps, photographs, and artworks.”
One of the museum’s most valuable exhibits is a large collection of rare pieces associated with important moments in the Prophet’s life and the history of Madinah.
These include various parts of the Kaaba, rare coins used in Madinah during different eras, ancient pottery, Islamic manuscripts, jewelry, and collectibles from the pre-Islamic era.
Taher said that the museum has a professional team of guides who speak several languages, including English, Turkish, Urdu, and Malay.
(Source Arab News)
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